Maharashtra to lead digital creative economy through e-Sports World Cup 2026 – Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis

• Leading the Maharashtra Digital Creative Economy
• An opportunity for young gamers to make their mark on the global stage
• The AVGC-XR field developed rapidly

Mumbai : Through ‘India Rising’ and ‘Jio Blast’ India’s doors are being opened for the ‘E-Sports World Cup 2026’ Olympic Games of the gaming world to be held in Paris. Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis asserted that every talented young gamer in Maharashtra and the country now has an opportunity to showcase his skills at the global level, and this is a historic step in the journey of India’s digital creative economy.

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Chief Minister Fadnavis was speaking at the program ‘India Rising: Road to e-Sports World Cup 2026’ organized at Jio World Convention Centre, BKC, Mumbai. On this occasion, Dr P Anbalgan, Principal Secretary, Industries Department, Jio Blast CEO Charlie Cordray, James Cunningham, representative of eSports World Cup Foundation, representatives of various e-Sports organizations, industry dignitaries and gamers from all over the country were present.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis said that Mumbai has created a global identity as a ‘dream city’ through the film and entertainment industry. Now Maharashtra is also poised to lead the country in the new creative industries of Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming, Comics and Extended Reality (AVGC-XR). Maharashtra has built a strong ecosystem in this field due to information technology, digital expertise, excellent educational institutions, film industry, OTT production, post-production facilities and competent infrastructure.

The AVGC-XR field developed rapidly

Highlighting the growing strength of the gaming industry, Chief Minister Fadnavis said that globally, the annual revenue of the gaming industry has surpassed the combined revenue of the film and music industries. There are more than 50 crore active gamers in India and the domestic gaming industry is worth around Rs 40,000 crore. Hence, gaming is not just a matter of entertainment but is becoming an effective pillar of employment, innovation, entrepreneurship and digital economy. AVGC-XR sector in India is growing rapidly due to affordable data, fast internet, UPI transaction system and advanced digital technology. Artificial intelligence, virtual production and immersive technologies are shaping the future of the entertainment and digital content industry.

12 AVGC parks across the state

Chief Minister Fadnavis said that Maharashtra is the first state in the country to announce a comprehensive AVGC-XR policy. A provision of Rs 3,268 crore has been made under this policy and a target of attracting investment of Rs 50,000 crore and creating two lakh jobs has been set. The area has been given the status of Industry and Infrastructure Zone and 12 AVGC Parks are being developed across the state.

He also informed that state-of-the-art virtual production and artificial intelligence based rendering facilities will be set up in Mumbai, Navi Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Nashik and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar and a world-class content creators complex will be set up on a 50-acre area in the Navi Mumbai International Airport area.

Referring to the establishment of ‘Indian Institute of Creative Technologies’ in Mumbai on the initiative of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Minister Fadnavis said that this institute will give a new direction to the country’s creative and orange economy and will play an important role in creating world-class manpower.

Regarding the E-Sports World Cup 2026, Chief Minister Fadnavis said that the ‘India Rising’ and ‘Jio Blast’ initiatives have provided a way for every young gamer in India to participate in the world championship. Talented youths from rural as well as urban areas of Maharashtra will now get equal opportunity to reach the global level. Hence, India’s gaming talent will shine more effectively on the global stage.

He said that around 50 thousand contestants, 5 thousand live audience, 8 crore digital audience and more than 20 crore digital impressions are expected in this initiative and this campaign will reach more than 60 crore users of Jio. He also expressed confidence that ‘India Rising’ will go down as the most comprehensive and effective e-sports campaign in India’s history.

Expressing confidence that the gaming industry will be an important component of the future global economy and the state will lead the global gaming and digital content industry on the strength of Maharashtra’s youth power, innovation and creativity, Chief Minister Shri. Fadnavis said, “Movies show us the world of dreams; but gaming gives us the opportunity to experience those dreams and become the hero of that world ourselves.”

Chief Minister Fadnavis congratulated the organizers, Jio Blast, participating organizations in the industry and all the contestants for the successful organization of the event. He assured that the Maharashtra government is committed to making the state a global hub of digital creative economy by providing all-out support to the AVGC-XR, gaming and e-sports sector.

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